At the Set Time

Ever been discouraged? Wonder if the dreams and plans that God has for you will ever come to pass? God's planted vision in your heart, but you have no idea how to get from point A to point B, and God doesn't seem to be in a hurry to show you the way either. Let me tell you I know what you're going through. In fact I'm there myself. But let me share with you what I believe God's been showing me lately: it's a process!

We live in a fast-food and microwave society. We want things now! We can pull into any drive-thru and if it takes more than 5 minutes to get our burger, fries, and soft-drink, then we're mad and ready to throw a fit. Our God is an all-natural, organic God. He's not about instant gratification, but about life changing transformation, and that can only happen in the process.

Years ago if you wanted french fries there was a process that you needed to go through. First you would buy a piece of farm land. But see, just buying the land wouldn't get you what you wanted, now the real work began. The ground needed to be broken up. Rocks needed to be removed from the fields. Not only are there rocks, but there are also roots that need to be broken and pulled from the field. And then finally, after plowing a small plot, because it would take way too much work to plow the whole field, are we ready to plant some potatoes. All summer long you must work to water and weed the plants, nuturing them so they will grow. And then comes the harvest, pulling the potatoes from the ground, preparing them to be stored. Afterwards a few choice potatoes must be chosen washed, sliced, battered, and then fried, before they are ready to be consumed as french fries. Months and months of work has gone in to preparing these tasty treats that will be consumed in a few mere moments.

In the same way our journey is a process. Between my DSOM classes, my devotions, and a book a dear friend and mentor gave me I have begun to realize this. In the course of a few days I heard the a similar phrase twice and it stuck with me. The first time I heard the phrase was during my DSOM New Testament Survey Class. We were looking at all the preparation God did before Christ could be born, and in Galatians 4:4-5 (NKJV) it says, "But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons." God sent Jesus at the perfect time, to spread the love of God and salvation from our sins. (At the class I had an aha moment, I'm not going to elaborate on this verse now because that's not the point I hope to make).

The second time I saw the phrase was while I was doing my morning devotions and reading through Genesis. Genesis 21:2 says, "For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him." I read this and my eyes got wide, and to my surprise Galatians 4:4 was referenced. And I realized, wow God's trying to show me something here. So I flipped back a couple of chapters and in Genesis 12 at 75 years old, God says this to Abraham who at the time was known as Abram, "get out of your father's house and go to the land I will show you because I'm going to make you a great nation." Twenty-five years! 25 years Abraham was journeying before God gave him the start of that promise. God promised to make him a great nation, He said He would make his descendants as the stars of the sky innumerable; and yet, Abraham had had no children up until this point. Twenty-five years!

I don't know about you, but I think I would've gotten discouraged, questioned if I'd really heard God, become upset or frustrated. But look how long it took before the promise of the Savior came, Jesus was prophesied about in the Garden just before Adam and Eve were kicked out.

There's a common cliche that "God's ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts." Generally when it's said it offers little comfort to the hearer, it's often empty words used to explain why something did or did not happen. But let me offer you this, it's what I've found in these few words: hope. "At the set time." God has not abandoned you. He has not left you to your own devices. He remembers the promise He spoke concerning you. He knows the dreams He has planted in your heart, and "at the set time" He will bring about those things.

I know it may feel like when will it begin, but let me comfort you, Abraham waited 25 years for the beginning of the process. Twenty-five years to see the promise begin to come to fruition. He was promised a great nation. We can see it. We see Israel, but he didn't, why? Because it's a process, it takes time for God to work out his plan in our lives. If we allow Him, then our influence and the work that He's doing will outlast us. And that's exciting!